The present invention relates generally to online transactions. More specifically, integrating live chat into an online credit card application is disclosed.
Considerable marketing effort is involved in getting an applicant to log on to a credit card website and apply for a credit card. In addition to advertising, credit cards that allow a user to apply for a card over the Internet in some cases pay significant referral fees to a party that refers an applicant to the site. Given the effort and cost required to attract an applicant to begin an on-line credit card application, it is very important that, if at all possible, the applicant be encouraged to complete the process.
Various reasons exist why an applicant might cancel out of a credit card application that has already been started. The applicant may become confused during the process and may cancel when the applicant is unable to discern how to follow certain instructions. Also, an applicant may reject an offer for credit because of some attribute of the credit offer that the applicant finds unacceptable. Whatever the reason that the applicant does not complete the process and receive the credit card, the loss to the marketer of the credit card is significant. It would be very helpful if an on line credit card application system could be improved to reduce the number of applicants that stop the process short of obtaining a credit card.
An on line credit card application system that provides an integrated live chat to help the applicant during an application process is disclosed. In one embodiment, an application that initiates a chat session with a chat server is provided to the applicant""s browser. When an event that occurs that indicates that the applicant may be helped by chatting with a customer service agent on line, a chat application contacts the chat server and places the applicant in a queue to chat with the next available customer service agent. In one embodiment, the chat application on the applicant""s browser does not send detailed information about the application to the chat server. Instead, the chat application sends an applicant identifier to the chat server. The chat server then accesses the application server that has been handling the application session with the applicant and uses the applicant identifier to access information about the application.
It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, a method, or a computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computer network wherein program instructions are sent over optical or electronic communication links. Several inventive embodiments of the present invention are described below.
In one embodiment, a method of providing on line chat help to an applicant includes inserting an application identifier and a chat applet into a web page. The web page is sent to the applicant. The chat applet is configured to determine upon the occurance of an event that the applicant could benefit from online chat and, upon such determination, to send a request to a chat server for a connection and to include the application identifier with the request.
In one embodiment, a method of providing on line chat help to an applicant includes receiving a request for a chat connection and a corresponding application identifier. A chat connection is established with the client. The applicant identifier is used to obtain information from a remote server about an application that the applicant is in the process of completing.
In one embodiment, a method of providing on line chat help to an applicant includes receiving a web page including an applicant identifier. It is determined that the applicant could benefit from online chat and a request is sent to a chat server for a connection wherein the request includes the application identifier.
In one embodiment, an application server for providing on line chat help to an applicant includes a processor configured to insert an application identifier and a chat applet into a web page and an applicant interface configured to send the web page to the applicant. The chat applet is configured to determine based on an event that the applicant could benefit from online chat and, upon such determination, to send a request to a chat server for a connection and to include the application identifier with the request.
In one embodiment, a chat server for providing on line chat help to an applicant includes an applicant interface configured to receive a request for a chat connection and a corresponding application identifier and to establish a chat connection with the client. A server interface is configured to use the applicant identifier to obtain information from a remote server about an application that the applicant is in the process of completing.
In one embodiment, an applicant client for obtaining on line chat help includes an application server interface configured to receive a web page including an applicant identifier. A processor is configured to determine that the applicant could benefit from online chat. A chat interface is configured to send a request to a chat server for a connection wherein the request includes the application identifier.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be presented in more detail in the following detailed description and the accompanying figures which illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention.